Gonçalo Martins, a student in the Aerospace Engineering Bachelor´s degree at Instituto Superior Técnico, participated in the construction of the rocket QUACK I, launched on August 22. The opportunity arose from the project "Fly a Rocket!", developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with Andøya Space Education and the Norwegian Space Agency. This initiative is aimed at university students with an interest in the space sector.

The student received the highest marks in evaluations covering topics such as rocket dynamics and electronics, and was one of 24 students selected to be part of the team responsible for the launch in Andøya.

I gained a lot of practical knowledge — skills like soldering electronic components and applying theoretical concepts — which I believe will be a great advantage someday.

Gonçalo Martins

Gonçalo admits that he faced the additional challenge of studying more to acquire some of the necessary knowledge, as he was only in his first year of the program. He was part of the sensor experimentation team, where he was responsible for the construction, calibration, and testing of the optical sensor for the rocket, which would eventually reach an altitude of 9,372 meters. He also had the opportunity to monitor the launch from a room where he received data collected by the onboard sensors as it was sent.

His interest in aerospace engineering was evident even in high school, as he participated in the 2022 Summer School in Astronomy organized by the Physics Department of Instituto Superior Técnico (NFIST). He chose IST because he considered it "the institution with the most history in this field," emphasizing that it "has the prestige of having excellent researchers and a legacy of building rockets."

He stresses that the overall experience was very positive and assures that he wants to continue working in the field.

More than ever, I am sure this is what I want to work on; it’s what I love.

Gonçalo Martins

Photography: Técnico